A Helpful Guide to Overcoming Consumerism

Written byjoshua becker ·

“Wanting less is a better blessing than having more.” —Mary Ellen Edmunds

Owning less brings great benefit to our lives: less stress, less debt, more time, more freedom.

But wanting less brings even more. Removing ourselves from the culture of consumption that surrounds us allows wonderful habits to emerge in our lives: contentment, gratitude, freedom from comparison, and the opportunity to pursue greater significance.

Breaking free from excessive consumerism is an essential step not just for a simplified life, but for any life that desires to be lived intentionally. How then we can realize this freedom? What steps can we take to break free?

A Simple, Helpful Guide to Overcome Consumerism

1. Admit it is possible. There are numerous persons throughout history and the present who have adopted a minimalist lifestyle that rejects and overcomes consumerism. Find motivation in their example. And admit you can join their ranks. Victory always begins there.

2. Adopt a traveler’s mentality. When we travel, we take only what we need for the journey. As a result, we feel lighter, freer, more flexible… we understand why there is a growing movement to stage our bedrooms like hotel rooms. Adopting a traveler’s mindset for life provides the same benefit—not just for a weeklong vacation, but in everything we do. Adopt a mindset that seeks to carry only what you need for the journey.

3. Embrace the life-giving benefits of owning less. Rarely are we invited to consider the benefits of owning less. But when the practical benefits are clearly articulated, they are quickly understood, easily recognized, and often desired. Of course, these benefits are only fully realized when we actually begin living with less. An important step to overcome consumerism is to embrace the reality that there is more life to be found in owning less than can be found in owning more.

4. Become acutely aware of the consumer-driven society in which we live. Our world will lead you to believe your greatest contribution to society is the money that you spend. We are faced with 5,000 advertisements every day calling us to buy more. As a result, average consumer debt equals $8,000/household, shopping malls outnumber high schools, Americans spend more on jewelry and shoes than higher education, and 93% of teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite past time. Recognizing the consumeristic mindset of our world will not immediately remove you from it, but it is an absolutely essential step in the journey.

5. Compare down. Theodore Roosevelt once remarked, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” He was, of course, absolutely right. As we begin comparing our lives and possessions to those around us who have more, we lose joy, contentment, and happiness. And we begin trying hard to close the gap. This is because we always compare upward—looking at those who have more. But we could begin breaking through the consumerism-trap if we began taking greater notice of those who need more and spending time with people who have less and remain joyful in their circumstances.

6. Realize your money is only as valuable as what you choose to spend it on. The financial resources we have earned or been given hold great potential. They can be used to provide for those without. They can be used to bring justice and hope to a world desperately searching for both. And we ought to dream bigger dreams for our money than the clearance rack at a department store.

7. Consider the full cost of your purchases. Usually when we purchase an item, we only look at the sticker price. But this is rarely the full cost. Our purchases always cost us additional time, energy, and focus (cleaning, organizing, maintaining, fixing, replacing, or removing). Making a habit of intentionally factoring those expenses into our purchases will allow our minds to make more competent and confident decisions about our consumption habits.

8. Turn off the television. Television glamorizes all that it needs to glamorize in order to continue in existence. Corporations don’t spend $50 billion every year on television advertisements because they think they can get you to buy their product, they spend that much money because they know they can get you to buy their product. Television is an industry built on the assumption that you can be convinced to spend (and overspend) your money. You are not immune.

9. Make gratitude a discipline in your life. Gratitude serves little purpose in us as merely a response to positive circumstances. Gratitude holds its greatest potential as an attitude in undesired circumstances. Embrace it as a discipline during seasons of plenty and seasons of want. And begin focusing more on your blessings than your troubles.

10. Practice generosity. The surest path to contentment is generosity. Giving forces us to recognize all we possess and all we have to offer. It allows us to find fulfillment and purpose in helping others. Remember, generosity always leads to contentment with far greater efficiency than contentment leads to generosity.

11. Renew your commitment daily. We are bombarded every single day with advertisements from nearly every flat surface we encounter. Rejecting and overcoming consumerism is a daily battle. Expect it to be such. And recommit every morning—or every hour if necessary.

To exist is to consume. But we were designed to accomplish things far greater.

The sooner we remove ourselves from overconsumption, the sooner we realize our truest potential. (tweet that)

Comments

I try to take away ‘something’ for each of your posts Joshua as it takes time to ‘really sink in’!! I have started the process of decluttering and not bringing anything new in (unless needed) and I must say it is a pleasure to open my linen closet and find something ‘right away’. I never realized how much ‘stuff’ I have accumulated in the drawers and closets because most of my rooms look fairly simple…what a surprise when I actually starting emptying a space…yikes lots of purging and donating and boy this sure does take a lot of time (I guess it took as much time to purchase each item) I am leading by example and sharing your blog with many and it is getting quite contagious in a good way!! Thanks for helping to change this World one person at a time as I am very greatfull to have come across your Blog!!! Cheers :)

One simple rule: always pay cash. Our consumer debt is $0. No surprises coming up.
We got one piggy bank. Whenever I get a £2 coin it lands in that piggy bank. So far I have resisted all urges to weigh it.

“Compare down” is the piece that speaks most to me. There are times when I’ve felt weighed down by all my family’s stuff, like it was drowning me and keeping me from doing things. However, I focused more on other people’s “extra” stuff than my own. I don’t tend to collect things for nostalgic value, but I’m an artist at heart and collect many projects that I don’t have time for. I fear the irony that as soon as I get rid of the unused projects to make space, I’ll have the space and energy to actually do them. Also, I’m conflicted as an artist. I get joy from making pictures, but I hate accumulating stuff and don’t wish it on others. I am wistful about the performing arts, whose art is completely transitory and doesn’t take up space the same way, but even they have tools of the trade, like instruments. I could say the same of so many things that enrich our lives but we don’t need to hang onto, like books, music, etc. I am trying to focus my creative impulses on transitory things, like my garden or cooking, but they do not bring me joy in the same way, even though I firmly believe my finished art projects aren’t ultimately important in the big scheme of life, the way relationships and caring for the world and each other are. This conundrum weighs on me. I am trying now to distinguish between collecting things which allow me and my family to have valuable experiences vs. collecting things which become clutter; spending extra money to support fair trade, artisans and environmental sustainability vs. saving money “just incase;” and living more as a self-denying aesthetic vs. living in a spirit of generosity towards my family, friends, and neighbors. For example, when is it excess to have a spare bedroom, or when does it become a valuable source of charity to host friends or better yet someone who needs a leg up.

When I left my home of 30 years behind in July (a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with a 2 car oversized garage) I took my two dogs, their stuff, and the few things I could fit into my car. I had more dog stuff than my stuff. lol When you are faced with that restriction of what can fit in your car you quickly realize what is important to you. It took a month for me to find a place to live and in that month I realized that I was getting along just fine with what I had and honestly i still felt like I had too much. When I moved into the apartment the stuff I stored at a friends house started arriving and I felt overwhelmed by a lot of it. Some things I welcomed (kitchen things mostly) but everything else was work to figure out if I wanted it and was it worth my time to keep and clean and store. I still don’t have all my things yet but it’s giving me time to pare it all down as I go. I am much happier with less because less always equals more for me. This applies to my personal belongings, my thoughts, my digital life, and my eating.

Ten years ago I found myself, after years of owning homes stuffed with stuff, in a situation where all that I owned fit into the back of a friends SUV. Instead of grief I felt wonderfully free to choose my next steps in life. Since then, my life has been a progressive one. Although there has been some accumulation since then, this column has alerted me to the need to share freely and bravely ,rather than hoard and I’ve been happy to be doing that, a bit at a time every day.

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After traveling with 3 small children for a few months, we returned to our giant 7 bedroom home filled with things we didn’t need for 4 months and especially didn’t miss. We sold and gave away everything apart from the most useful and loved items and moved across the world to cleanse ourselves of consumerism. We now live in a 2 bedroom apartment and live life to the fullest. we have more time for us, ‘more time for others and more time to travel. Our kids are wanting less and are happy and content. your writing has changed our life. Thank you